1. Field of the Invention
Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems for maintaining and/or at least partially filling a space between two materials, particularly materials such as concrete, brick, stucco, plastic, wood, metal, and other somewhat rigid materials associated with construction and manufacturing. In some embodiments the invention is directed to joints, such as expansion joints, and more specifically to backings, fillers, forms, stand-offs, spacers and other devices suitable for insertion into the space between materials to form a joint, hereinafter referred to cumulatively as a spacer or joint spacer. In those embodiments directed to a joint spacer, the spacer comprises one or more components that are configured for placement into and/or removal from a joint space.
2. Brief Description of Related Technology
Expansion joints and joints in general are present in many industrial applications. Typically a joint comprises a groove, trough or other space of selected shape and size between two surfaces or materials. Often the materials that define the space, such as concrete, wood, metal, plastic, etc. are often quite rigid. The space between these more rigid materials is at least partially filled with a joint spacer. The material of the joint spacer is typically less rigid than the surrounding materials. The joint spacer acts to maintain a space between the materials.
In many applications joint spaces are known to be formed by cutting into rigid materials or by forming the space through the utilization of rigid forming materials or standoffs. Once the joint space has been cut, or the forms removed, a flexible backer rod or other form is inserted into the space to a predetermined depth in order to obtain the desired joint shape and depth. After the backer rod is inserted, sealant is applied to finish the joint.
There are numerous disadvantages to cutting joint spaces in preparation for receiving a sealant. For example, in applications involving walls, it is difficult, if not impossible, to cut joint spaces adjacent to fenestrations or other wall penetrations in order to seal them to the surrounding material without damaging the frame or finish of the penetrating fixture in the cutting process. In addition, the cutting of joint spaces is expensive and difficult to do on vertical surfaces or from scaffolding. Furthermore, dust resulting from the cutting process may settle in the formed joint space. The dust may hinder sealant adhesion.
As mentioned above, as an alternative to cutting a joint space from the material, standoff type devices may be used to create the joint space. However, processes using forms and other standoff devices are also known to include drawbacks. For example, because standoffs are typically constructed of fairly rigid material that are put in place prior to the application of plastic construction materials, the forms often cannot be readily removed from the resulting joint space between the cured material without the destructive use of power tools or other equipment.
Often time standoffs are simply left in place within the joint space, however, because the standoff is made of rigid material that does not fill a substantial portion of the space, the standoff will not provide an insulating effect. Moreover, a standoff left in place may prevent the joint from opening and closing as intended, and may potentially lead to damage of the adjoining materials.
Known components that are inserted into the formed joint space, such as joint backer rods and other foam or semi-rigid materials are inserted into the joint space in order to establish a joint bottom and to provide a convex contour to the bottom of the joint space. As currently used however, backer rods and similar devices must be inserted into the joint space following placement of the materials adjacent to the space, or cutting of the space into the materials, but prior to the application of sealant. Almost without exception the backer rod or similar device is inserted into the space by the sealant contractor prior to application of the sealant. Often times during the insertion process the backer rod is punctured by the rough edges of the space or by the tools used to insert the rod. A punctured foam backer rod may emit gas causing bubbling in the plastic sealant. Another drawback to the use of backer rod is that it may be inserted at an inconsistent depth within the joint space. If this occurs, the joint sealant may fail prematurely because it was not placed at the desired depth to width ratio. In addition, expensive sealants may be wasted as a result of filling the joint space to a depth further than desired.
In light of the above, it is clear that a need exists to provide a joint formation process and joint insertion material which avoids the drawbacks associated with those previously utilized.
All U.S. patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided as well only for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72. The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.